The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library #1

In "Conquest," Captain Alvarado arrives in the Americas under orders from the Spanish government, tasked with subjugating the native inhabitants and seizing their gold. As he leads his men into uncharted territory, the weight of his mission begins to shadow his every step.

In "Jivaro Death!", con men Slick Charlie and Garcia pull off a daring heist, stealing half a million dollars in uncut diamonds from a messenger and his bodyguard. After disposing of Garcia, Charlie and his partner Smitty attempt to flee through the treacherous Jivaro territory—only to find themselves in a jungle where survival is the real challenge.

In "Pirate Gold," two seamen pull a mysterious man from the sea, his mind blank save for a single name: Thomas Tew. Now, with the promise of a casket of Spanish doubloons buried somewhere on a forgotten island, the trio sets sail on a desperate quest that blurs the line between memory and myth.

In "Search!", Joe, a young American-born man of Italian descent, returns to his homeland during the Italian Campaign, driven by a personal mission to find his brother Mario—someone who never made it to America. As he travels through the war-torn landscape, searching for answers and closure, the past and present blur in a quiet, poignant journey marked by loss and fleeting connections.

In "Contact!", a lone American soldier finds himself facing off against the North Korean Army, confident in his training and superiority—until the harsh realities of war begin to challenge everything he thought he knew. The story unfolds with tense precision, exploring the clash of ideologies and the unexpected cost of assumptions on the battlefield.

In "Kill!", two soldiers from opposing sides, each consumed by hatred and preparing for a final confrontation, find their grim expectations upended in a moment that defies the war they’ve been told to believe in. The story unfolds with quiet intensity, exploring the cost of hatred and the fragile, unexpected moments that can emerge between enemies.

In the heat of the Korean War, American soldiers abruptly pulled from occupation duty in Japan find themselves captured and forced to march toward Seoul. Among them, a man named Benedict tries to survive by ingratiating himself with their captors, only to discover that loyalty—even when bought—comes with its own steep cost.

In "Air Burst!", a young American soldier and his squad push forward through a war-torn landscape, unaware that a desperate Chinese mortar crew has set a deadly trap. When the ambush springs, the line between enemy and ally blurs in a sudden, violent explosion that shakes the front lines.

In "Corpse on the Imjin!", a lone American soldier reflects on the eerie sight of fallen soldiers drifting down the Imjin River, each body a silent question about how they met their end—until the stillness shatters with a sudden, violent attack. One of the two men in the confrontation will soon join the current, a grim addition to the river’s silent procession.

In "Big 'If'!", a wounded soldier lies dying by the roadside, his mind drifting through a quiet, haunting what-if as he contemplates the tiny shift in position that might have changed everything. With the weight of a single moment pressing on him, he reflects on the life he might have lived had fate nudged him just a fraction to the left.

"Marines Retreat!" follows a group of American soldiers surrounded at the Changjin Reservoir during a desperate push to reach the coast. Amid the chaos, Private Parks becomes lost in a vivid dream of his family back home, his thoughts drifting so deeply that his actions grow dangerously reckless.

In "O.P.!", a lone Army howitzer officer reaches out to a forward operation post during a tense standoff, seeking confirmation on enemy movements and whether reinforcements are needed. What follows is a quiet, unsettling exchange that defies expectation, revealing just how fragile communication can be under pressure.

In "Fire Mission!", a young recruit to a mortar crew during the Korean War grumbles about the constant rifle fire nearby, unaware of the harsh realities of combat. As he’s thrust into the chaos of the front lines, he quickly learns that war isn’t just about bullets—it’s about discipline, timing, and surviving the next moment.

In the isolated silence of Wake Island, a group of civilian workers watches in stunned disbelief as twelve Grumman fighters touch down on the airstrip. The pilots’ calm demeanor quickly shifts as they begin speaking of Pearl Harbor—then the sky darkens with the roar of enemy aircraft, and the island is thrust into sudden, terrifying war.

In the tense silence of a war-torn landscape, a young American soldier and his squad are ordered to seize the eastern bunker—unaware that their mission places them at the center of a deadly trap. The true danger lies not in the enemy ahead, but in the hidden bunker just beyond their line of sight, where another force waits in the shadows.

In "Rough Riders!", a wounded soldier lies dying on the island of Cuba, staring up at the sky as land crabs close in—his final moments filled with flashbacks to the brutal, chaotic horrors of war. The story unfolds through his fading consciousness, painting a harrowing portrait of survival, fear, and the cost of conflict.

In "F-86 Sabre Jet!", a routine patrol takes a sudden turn when a distressed call cuts through the radio—another Sabre jet, low on fuel and lost. The pilots race to find their fellow flyer, only to stumble into a deadly encounter with enemy MIGs.

In "Bonhomme Richard!", a dead American sailor recounts the brutal 1779 naval clash between the USS Bonhomme Richard and the HMS Serapis, a fierce fight that left both sides decimated. The story captures the chaos and courage of the battle from a haunting, firsthand perspective, where survival and sacrifice blur in the smoke and steel of war.

In "Memphis!", a young Confederate officer watches in dread as a massive fleet of Southern ships advances up the Mississippi, unaware of the storm about to break. As the Union Navy prepares to intercept them at Memphis, Tennessee, the weight of war settles on the river’s banks—where duty, fear, and the fate of a nation collide.